Holiday lights make your home festive and inviting, but they can also present a serious safety hazard. Incorrectly hung lights can overwhelm your electrical wiring or even spark a house fire that could spoil the holiday season. If you’re decking your halls with holiday lights, below are a few tips that will keep you and your family safe.

What to Know About Hanging Holiday Lights Safely

1. Carefully Check Each String

Broken insulation and frayed wires can cause an electrical short that may deliver shocks or pose a fire hazard. As you take each string out of storage, carefully check the wires for signs of cracking, broken bulbs, or missing rubber. Throw away any strings of lights that seem damaged, even if they still work.

2. Water the Tree

Dried wood is extremely flammable, so even perfectly functional lights can trigger a fire if the tree doesn’t have enough water. In fact, fire departments respond to over 150 fires caused by holiday trees every year. If you bring a tree indoors for the holidays, make sure it stays watered throughout the season.

3. Switch to LED Lights

Unlike incandescent bulbs, LEDs don’t generate heat to create light. Instead, they rely on diodes that glow when they’re exposed to an electrical current. LED holiday lights won’t overheat and cause an accident, and they can dramatically reduce your holiday energy consumption.

4. Don’t Overload the Outlets

Holiday lights can be plugged into each other, but if the same outlet powers too many strands, it can overwhelm your electrical wiring. To figure out how many you can plug in, you’ll need to compare the wattage of each strand to the wattage of your power outlet.

This math can be complex, so a good rule of thumb is to never have one outlet powering more than three strands of lights. For added safety, you might use a power strip with a built-in breaker that will shut off the electricity if the outlet overloads.

If your power is flickering or you need electrical wiring upgrades, Piedmont Electric Repair Company is High Point, NC’s contractor of choice. They’ve been serving homes and businesses throughout the Piedmont Triad since 1936, and pride themselves on bringing expertise and professionalism to every job. Visit their website for more on their broad range of repair and installation services, get tips and updates on Facebook, or call (336) 889-0222 to have your electrical wiring inspected by a professional today.